Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Victoria Road, the heart of the British concession.

Gordon Hall stands in the middle of the street. Completed in 1890 at a cost of 30,000 taels of silver, it is a typical British castle-style building.

The three-story brick and wood structure, with its red brick exterior walls gleaming with a somber luster in the night, and its pointed tower piercing the night sky, housed a police station, court, conference hall, fire station, and served as the office building of the British Concession Municipal Council.

The General Police Station of the Concession was also located here, making it one of the power centers for foreigners in the Tianjin Concession.

Chen Zhan was dressed in black, his face covered by a mask, revealing only a pair of cold eyes.

He moved with light steps, always staying close to the wall, his figure like a ghost, each step falling into the shadows without making a sound. None of the patrolling police officers along the way noticed his presence.

Most of the troops stationed in the concession were transferred to the Fangshan mines, which weakened the defense force considerably, but the police officers in the police station were still on duty, and there were quite a few people patrolling at night.

It was already past midnight, the night was dark and windy, and the chill was biting. The patrol officers were all drowsy and their vigilance was at its lowest. Some were dozing off against the wall, while others were rubbing their hands and chatting. No one noticed the dark figure that had passed by the base of the wall.

"boom--!"

With a deafening roar, flames shot into the sky, turning half the night sky crimson.

Across the street, the consulate suddenly burst into flames. The fire spread rapidly with the help of the night wind, quickly engulfing the wooden roof. The crackling sound of the burning was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

"It's on fire, it's on fire!"

Inside Gordon Hall, Chief Constable Charles was awakened by the shouting. He sat up sleepily and waved his hand impatiently.

"What's the panic? Where's the fire? If there's a fire, send the fire department to put it out. Why are you calling me?"

The subordinate rushed in, panting, his face pale and his voice trembling: "Chief Constable, it's...it's the Consul's residence, the Bosideng Mansion!"

"What???"

Charles instantly snapped awake, yanked off the covers, and swore, "Fuck!"

He didn't bother to get dressed properly; barefoot, he rushed out of the room and shouted down the hallway, "Assemble! Everyone assemble! Go put out the fire immediately!"

The fire department and police station were both located in the three-story building of Gordon Hall. Upon hearing the order, the police and firefighters rushed out of their rooms in a chaotic rush, grabbing firefighting equipment and hurrying to the Bosideng Mansion across the street.

The Bosideng Mansion is a two-story English-style house on Datong Road, with a garden courtyard. It is mainly constructed of wood, making it very easy to ignite.

Chen Zhan didn't have to exert much effort to bypass the guards at the door, stuff the kerosene-soaked cotton wool into the window cracks, light it, and quickly leave.

Once a wooden house catches fire, it will spread rapidly throughout the entire structure. By the time Charles and his men arrived, the fire was already out of control, with thick smoke billowing out, making it impossible to get close and difficult to extinguish.

Chen Zhan stood in the shadows at a distance, watching the mansion engulfed in flames. Once he was sure he had attracted everyone's attention, he slowly disappeared into the darkness and headed toward his next target.

Simply igniting the fire is not enough.

He wanted to completely divert the foreigners' attention to the notorious thieves' robbery, so that he could not only obtain a huge sum of money but also disrupt the order of the concession and pave the way for his subsequent plans.

165 Victoria Road, Swire Building.

This is a three-story brick and stone building with a classic English style. Even at night, a ring of dim yellow lights surrounds the building, and the lights reflect on the Haihe River, making it sparkle.

The building is located near the riverbank, and when viewed from across the river, it offers a beautiful view against the backdrop of a sky full of stars.

Swire Group's two core businesses were shipping and sugar, while it also engaged in diversified businesses such as insurance, paint, barges, and flour imports. Together with Jardine Matheson, it monopolized the shipping and sugar markets in northern China and was one of the most powerful commercial institutions in the British concession of Tianjin.

The Tianjin-Shanghai route operates daily and is the main route of Swire Shipping Company. The company owns its own fleet of barges, which travel between the Haihe River and the port, allowing for easy cargo transfer.

To store goods and money, most of the ground floor of the trading company building was converted into warehouses, and the accumulated money was deposited into HSBC Bank only once every seven days.

Today is the seventh day.

The silver dollars accumulated over seven days were all stored inside the foreign firm. Apart from the bank's safe deposit box, this was the wealthiest place in all of Tianjin.

Even at night, there are still quite a few people on duty at the Swire Group, with the security team divided into two shifts, patrolling day and night.

However, the commotion of the fire at the consulate on the next street attracted most people's attention, and the security guards on duty frequently looked in the direction of the flames, their minds elsewhere.

Security Captain James, holding the phone, was consulting with his superior, his tone hesitant: "Sir, the consulate next door is on fire, and the fire is huge. Should we send some of our personnel to provide support?"

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, instructions came through: half of them were to go to provide support, while the rest remained at their posts to guard the warehouse and the money.

Captain James hung up the phone and immediately selected half of the security team members, ordering them to take firefighting equipment and head towards the consulate.

The remaining few people continued patrolling the building, but with a higher level of vigilance than before.

"Whoosh-!"

The wind howled through the night, and a faint sound of something cutting through the air was completely drowned out by the wind.

A security guard standing guard at the entrance of the trading company suddenly stiffened as a thin, long, piercing nail was driven into his neck. The force was precise, piercing his trachea directly. He lost consciousness without even uttering a sound.

Chen Zhan strode forward, supporting his body with one hand. Another bone-piercing nail appeared at his fingertips. With a gentle press, the bone-piercing nail pierced through his back and was firmly nailed to the wall.

From a distance, the person was leaning against the wall in a natural posture, and it was impossible to tell that he had died. Instead, it looked like he was resting against the wall.

Chen Zhan followed suit, moving lightly with each step, taking one person at a time. Every strike was incredibly precise, the bone-piercing nails striking the vital points of the necks without a sound from anyone.

The patrolling security guards were pinned to the wall one by one, and in a short time, all the guards at the entrance and the first-floor corridor were dealt with.

These hidden weapons were all taken from Ma Liu's house. There were plum blossom darts and bone-piercing nails. They were extremely sharp and coated with paralyzing drugs. Once they hit a vital spot, they could instantly make a person lose consciousness and leave no trace.

If Ma Liu knew in the afterlife that the foreigners he dared not offend in his entire life had been nailed to the wall one by one by his treasured hidden weapons, he would probably jump out of his coffin.

After dealing with the guards on the first floor, Chen Zhan flipped over, lightly braced himself against the wall with one foot, and leaped into the air, steadily climbing up to the second floor.

The windows on the second floor are all made of steel with imported glass. They have an arched stone in the center and vertical pilasters between the windows, making them extremely sturdy.

He couldn't break the glass; the noise would be too loud and give away his position.

Chen Zhan walked lightly along the edge of the second floor, as if walking on flat ground, and soon found a small window facing the river.

This window is smaller than the others, and its hidden location makes it difficult to spot.

He pressed both palms against the edge of the window, his inner energy slowly gathering within his dantian, and with a burst of force from his fingertips, "Squeak—!"

With a slight scraping sound, the steel window frame was pressed inward by him, and the entire window was slowly pushed into the room without making a loud noise.

Chen Zhan flashed into the room, gently lowered the window, and took out a new flashlight that he had prepared beforehand.

The light wasn't bright, but it was enough to illuminate the room and avoid making unnecessary noise.

The information Lu Jun collected did not pinpoint the exact location of the money, but after secretly observing the trading company several times, he saw silver dollars being moved from box to box to the second floor, so he figured the money was hidden on that floor.

He searched quickly on the second floor, not blindly flipping through the walls, but relying on his sense of smell to locate the spot.

Silver coins themselves have no smell, but the boxes used to store them are mostly camphor wood boxes. Camphor wood is insect-proof and moisture-proof, making it the "standard" for storing valuables such as silver coins and banknotes.

Iron safes were not yet common, as they were not only bulky but also expensive. Foreign firms used camphor wood chests to store money, which were both safe and convenient.

Camphor wood has a cool and refreshing aroma that invigorates the mind; when a pile of camphor wood chests are placed together, the aroma becomes even more pronounced.

Chen Zhan found the location of the money in a room on the west side of the second floor without much effort.

There was a solid iron door at the entrance of the room, thick and sturdy, clearly designed specifically for security.

Chen Zhan stepped forward, placed his palm on the iron gate, and felt the thickness of the door panel. The energy in his dantian gathered again. He did not rush to exert his strength, but waited quietly.

"boom--!"

A loud roar came from afar; the gunpowder he had placed inside the consulate building had been ignited. Explosions followed one after another, keeping the firefighting team busy and unable to attend to anything else.

Right now.

Chen Zhan's eyes narrowed, and he unleashed his full power from his dantian, pressing his hands against the iron gate and exerting force.

"Oh!"

A muffled thud echoed inside the room. The solid iron door wasn't smashed, but the door frame was shattered by the impact. The iron door crashed inward, raising a cloud of dust.

The noise wasn't quiet, but fortunately, the security guards outside the building were all dead, and the sounds of explosions and firefighting in the distance perfectly masked the commotion inside the building.

Inside the room, rows of camphor wood chests were neatly stacked. Opening one of them revealed it to be full of silver coins, gleaming brightly. Each chest weighed over 300 jin (approximately 150 kg).

Chen Zhan glanced at it and saw that there were about eighty boxes of silver dollars and several boxes of silver notes.

He was all alone and couldn't possibly take so much with him, but it would be such a waste to leave it behind.

He had planned this all along.

The main reason he chose Swire Group was its geographical location – it was right next to the Kowloon River.

Chen Zhan walked to the window, pushed it open a crack, bent down, picked up the two boxes of silver dollars, exerted force with both arms, channeled his inner energy into his body, slightly turned to the side, and suddenly threw the boxes out.

The two boxes of silver dollars, like two heavy cannonballs, drew an arc in the air, spanning a hundred meters, and then fell into the river with a "plop," splashing up a huge spray of water.

This kind of theft method is beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and only a master like Chen Zhan, who has reached the Core Formation Realm, can do it.

Carrying a box weighing over 300 pounds across a hundred meters requires not only extreme strength but also precise control. The slightest deviation would cause it to fall onto the shore, revealing its location.

That's why he didn't bring anyone with him.

Others will not only be of no help, but may also become a burden and leak the plan.

Without pausing, Chen Zhan bent down again and again, picked up the camphor wood chest, and threw it with all his might. Chest after chest of silver coins fell into the river one after another. The sound of the splashing water was covered by the distant explosions, and no one noticed.

He threw over forty boxes of silver dollars into the river one by one, but there was no time to get rid of the remaining forty boxes.

The sound of police footsteps could be heard in the distance, indicating that the firefighting was basically over and that officers were being assigned to patrol other buildings within the concession.

He could escape unscathed at any time, but he couldn't let the whereabouts of the silver coins be discovered, otherwise the people on the other side of the river wouldn't have time to retrieve them.

All the plans will be in vain.

Chen Zhan quickly flew downstairs and lit a pre-prepared fuse at the entrance of the trading company. The fuse was connected to the gunpowder inside the building.

He then turned around, his figure flashed, and he disappeared into the night.

Fifteen minutes ago, on the opposite bank of the Haihe River.

Wu Qingshan, along with Erzhu and a dozen or so brothers, had been waiting by the river for half a day. There had been no movement, but he wasn't worried; it would just mean staying up all night anyway.

Soon, a fire broke out at the mansion in the distance.

Flames shot into the sky.

He thought this was a pledge of loyalty, and was shocked by Chen Zhan's audacity. If he were caught, he would surely die.

With no movement in sight, Erzhu grew impatient and couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, we've been waiting for so long, why is there still no sign of him? Should we go to the foreign concession to meet Mr. Chen?"

Wu Qingshan frowned slightly, looking hesitant; he was also somewhat anxious.

But he quickly remembered the contents of the letter, which stated that the meeting point was near the Jin Gang Bridge, while the fire in the distance was still a long way away.

"No rush, let's wait a bit longer."

The group waited a while longer, but still didn't see Chen Zhan. Just then, one of the subordinates suddenly pointed to the river in the distance and said in surprise, "Senior Brother, Second Brother Zhu, look, there seems to be some movement over there!"

Wu Qingshan looked in the direction he pointed, and in the darkness, he could vaguely see the sound of a "plop" coming from the river, as well as traces of water splashing.

"Erzhu, take some men and go check it out. Be careful not to alert anyone else."

Erzhu nodded, and with his two brothers, quickly walked more than a hundred meters to the right. As they approached the riverbank, they saw what was on the river surface in the dim light of day, and were instantly dumbfounded.

"Holy crap? What's that?"

He rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing, and shouted to his brothers beside him, "Look quickly, am I seeing things? There seems to be a box on the river!"

The brother next to him stepped forward, took a closer look, and said with the same shock, "It seems... to be true, there's a box that fell from the sky and landed in the river!"

"Where did this box come from?"

Erzhu frowned and looked in the direction the box had fallen. The opposite bank of the river was pitch black, and he could only see the distant firelight. He couldn't see anything else.

"It seems to be on the other side of the river, but it's too far away, and we can't see the exact location at night."

It was almost dawn, and a thin mist had risen on the river, further reducing visibility. Only the boxes could be vaguely seen floating on the water, slowly moving with the current.

"Quick, go call our senior brother!" Erzhu snapped out of his daze and shouted urgently to his brothers.

Wu Qingshan quickly arrived and looked at the river. He saw another box fall into the water, splashing quite a bit. In succession, many more boxes fell into the water.

There was no one for hundreds of meters around at night, and you couldn't see anything unless you got very close. No one would have thought that someone would throw a box into the river from a trading company a hundred meters away.

Wu Qingshan's mind raced, and he instantly understood.

"Slap—!" He slapped himself on the head, his voice trembling with excitement.
"This is the true pledge of loyalty! Quick, everyone get in the water and retrieve the box! Hurry up!"

Upon hearing this, everyone reacted instantly, taking off their outer garments and leaping into the icy river to swim towards the floating camphor wood box. (End of Chapter)